Hope: A Confident Expectation

credits: Pam Brophy//creativecommons.org

Tuesday Morning we were blessed to have Carey Helmink and the worship team lead us during our opening. If you missed this week, feel free to click HERE and sing along to one of the songs they shared. Then, take a moment to read the message Carey had for us on hope. I can’t think of a better way to spend a few minutes of a rainy day.

“I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word. I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn, Yes, more than sentries long for the dawn. O Israel (or dear sisters), hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows.” Psalm 130:5-7

The world’s definition of hope is different from God’s definition. The world’s definition could be described as “wishful thinking.” We hope that certain things will happen but we have no guarantee that they will. This type of hope isn’t necessarily a bad thing – we can hope for things that are good and right. I hoped that my son and his wife would be able to reconcile their marriage . . . but they didn’t. I hoped that my dad would never have cancer . . . but he does. I can hope for certain things until the cows come home, but that doesn’t mean they will come to pass – no matter how hard I wish or how badly I want it to be true.

People who take their own lives often do so because they have run out of hope. We desperately need hope to carry on in this life. Thankfully, we can access a type of hope that is guaranteed. Hope from God’s perspective is a sure thing; it is the confident expectation that what He says will come to pass. Our hope is in the Lord and in his word – it is the only “sure thing” in this life.

This mindset is very simple, but it is not very easy. Like so many things, it is a discipline – a decision of my will to “hope in the Lord”.

I will never forget the first time I heard that song. It was Curt Lehman’s funeral and his whole family stood in the front row singing that song with their hands raised in worship to the One who was their hope. Hope makes all the difference as we navigate life in the shadow lands.

Where do you need your fears stilled today? In what area of your life do you need to cease striving and put your hope in the Lord?

“…Dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” Hebrews 10:19-23